The pace of economic and social change has quickened in the last decade; our standard of living - and the associated values of the ‘Deakin settlement’ - has been under challenge (Kelly, 1992). Social policy frameworks are under stress as a consequence of the challenge to the model which secured a living wage, arbitrated industrial awards, tariff protection and a regulated economy.

It will be suggested that this ought to spawn a new contemporary formulation of the social citizenship rights of children and families. Change provides the opportunities for practical applications of this; and Victorian policy practitioners have the intellectual tradition and capacity to carry that debate. What is at issue is whether there is sufficient energy to avoid slipping back into outdated nineteenth century formulations of residualist policy.

Family Preservation Services, and in particular the intensive variety, have recently been attracting a lot of attention in Australia, with initiatives in at least four states. Along with the enthusiasm there has been some hostility and opposition. This paper examines the context in which the services originally developed and attempts to rationally assess their relevance for Australia.

Internal working models of self and others and expectations of early relationships formed from early attachment experiences strongly influence the ways in which the child relates to others and the world. Infants whose early emotional needs have not been adequately met may come to view the world as comfortless and unpredictable and develop relationships that are marked by anxiety or detachment.

This paper presents some of the foundations of attachment theory and case examples are used to illustrate the ways in which children develop anxious or detached patterns of attachment. Attachment difficulties, together with environmental influences, are thought to be a genesis of later behavioural problems such as poor impulse control, aggression, prolonged emotional dependency and extreme difficulty in relating to other children.

In this paper, issues relating to access for the child in alternative care are explored. The various purposes of access are discussed and the major types described. Considerations for decisions regarding the type, setting, duration and frequency of access are discussed and ways of supporting the child afterwards are briefly examined.

While it is universally accepted that residential child care workers have a key role to play in the quality of services for children in care, the working conditions of many staff are poor and do not reflect the importance of their work. Very little research has been undertaken which focuses on the needs of residential child care staff. The following study examined the factors affecting the job satisfaction of residential child care workers in Melbourne, Australia.

White Australia was founded by exporting convicts from Britain. According to Fabian and Loh (1980) until the 1820s, about a quarter of those convicts were aged 18 years or less. While this is now common knowledge, the full scale of child exportation from Britain has only recently come to public attention.

The interest that this former child welfare practice has aroused is largely due to the work of a social worker. Margaret Humphreys, who founded the Child Migrant's Trust.

A number of people have contacted me about the interview published tn the last two issues of Children Australia (Goddard 1993a; 1993b). The mother's courage and persistence have clearly impressed many readers. In the latest development, the Victorian Ombudsman has reported on the case (Annual Report, 1992-1993, The Ombudsman Victoria, pp 40-42). I quote at length from his report: